The Idea of Soul

The idea of the soul, once established, probably persisted because of its psychological value. Of all creatures on Earth, only humans have the intelligence to recognize their own existence in time, realize that they cannot live forever, and dread the inevitable end. Much as people would like to live forever, many are willing to relinquish the body if they feel their real inner selves can remain imperishable. The idea of the soul appears to fulfil these hopes, and very few people are willing to question its existence.The English anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917) appears to have been correct in stating that animistic beliefs give an explanation of events. In these beliefs in different categories of spirit entities or aspects of human beings, we can see not only an intellectual response as Tylor argued, to two philosophical problems – the nature of dreams and visions, and the difference between life and death; but also a complex response to needs of many kinds, to hopes and fears for oneself and for others by whom one’s life is made up.Summary & ConclusionThe concept of the soul appears to have originated in the Middle Palaeolithic era, possibly as an attempt by early humans to explain the nature of dreams and the difference between life and death. The idea, modified by the passage of time, has persisted down to the present because many people find this belief comforting as it can mitigate the fear of death.However, with the advent of modern science we have discovered that life is wholly explicable in terms of natural physical processes, and that there is no need to postulate an immaterial vital force in order to account for physiological phenomena. Furthermore, we now know that all forms of life, including human beings, have arisen as a result of evolutionary processes, and it seems unlikely that this natural process could produce a supernatural entity such as the soul.In conclusion, I think that it is a reasonable probability that we are entirely natural creatures without any supernatural component to our beings.